Gross domestic product in the three months through December grew 7.2% from a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said, versus a median estimate for a 6.6% advance in a Bloomberg survey. — Reuters
MANILA: The Philippines weathered the fastest inflation and highest policy rate in 14 years to deliver a strong year-end performance that braces the economy for a bleak global outlook.
Gross domestic product (GDP) in the three months through December grew 7.2% from a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said yesterday, versus a median estimate for a 6.6% advance in a Bloomberg survey.
For the full year, GDP expanded 7.6% in 2022, surpassing the 7.4% survey median and clocking in among Asia’s fastest expansions.
The country is poised to keep on growing near 7%, president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in an interview earlier this month, optimistic that the country can overcome the challenges of a slowing global economy.
Last quarter’s print showed that domestic demand held up even as inflation bolted to the fastest since 2008 that led to the most aggressive monetary tightening in two decades.
Price gains are expected to cool in the coming months, giving the central bank room to end the rate hike cycle this quarter, governor Felipe Medalla said last week. — Bloomberg
